"The Bob's Burgers Movie" is a 2022 American animated musical comedy film based on the animated television series Bob's Burgers. It is directed by the series creator Loren Bouchard and series director Bernard Derriman, written by Bouchard and Nora Smith, and produced by Janelle Momary-Neely, Bouchard, and Smith. The original voice cast from the series reprises their roles, including H. Jon Benjamin, Dan Mintz, Eugene Mirman, Larry Murphy, John Roberts, Kristen Schaal, David Wain, Zach Galifianakis, and Kevin Kline. The plot follows Bob and his family as they struggle to pay their loan after a sinkhole opens in front of their restaurant and affects business, while the kids try to solve the murder of a carnie. The film premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on May 17, 2022, and was theatrically released by 20th Century Studios in the United States on May 27, 2022, following previous delays of almost two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It received positive reviews from critics and has grossed $34 million worldwide, dedicated to character designer Dave Creek and matte painter Denise Fuller, both of whom died prior to its release.
The Bob's Burgers movie received positive reviews from critics and audiences, with an 88% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, an average rating of 7.0/10, and a Metacritic score of 75 out of 100, indicating generally favorable reviews. Audiences also gave the film an average grade of "A" and 89% of audience members gave it a positive score with 69% saying they would definitely recommend it.
The animation for the Bob's Burgers movie was done by a team of animation studios, including Tonic DNA, Lighthouse Studios, Bento Box Entertainment, Golden Wolf, Yeson Entertainment, Brilliant Pictures, Synergy Animation, Mighty Animation, Dave Enterprises and Mercury Filmworks. The production team wanted the film to be mostly done through hand-drawn animation to keep the visuals similar to the series. The larger budget and animators available allowed for more detailed animation in the film. Tonic DNA was originally supposed to work only in musical numbers but was later assigned two additional sequences. Animators at Tonic DNA used both hand-drawn and cutout animation techniques for the film, with both being simultaneously used in certain sequences, particularly the "Lucky Ducks" musical number. This film would be the final animation work for Tuck Tucker and Dale Baer before their deaths.